Method for controlling door lock of home network system

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a method for controlling a door lock of a home network system, the method including: generating release information in an external software module which communicates with a first smart terminal, or in a software installed in the first smart terminal; transmitting the release information from the external software module or the first smart terminal to a second smart terminal which is independent from and not connected to the local network system at the time when receiving the release information; and locking or unlocking the door lock based on comparison of information input into the door lock from an outside of the door lock with the generated release information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/690,289 filed on Aug. 30, 2017, which is aContinuation-In-Part Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/153,749 filed on May 13, 2016, which claims priority to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2015-0133971, filed on Sep. 22, 2015, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which are incorporatedherein in their entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a door lock ofa home network system, and more particularly, to a method forcontrolling a door lock of a home network system, whereby releaseinformation that can be used for unlocking or locking a door lock withina limited period of time by a temporary user who enters a house or anoffice is generated and controlled.

In general, a digital door lock is installed in a house or an office toallow locking/unlocking of a door in response to digital signals thatare selectively generated by a inside person of the house or officeafter identifying an outside visitor.

Alternatively, such a digital door lock is locked/unlocked by password,fingerprint verification, or contact or proximity of an electronic key,such as a radio frequency identification (RFID) card, a bus card, etc,which are inputted from the outside. By the way, the conventionaldigital door lock is independently operated without interrelation with awireless communication system, such as a home network, and locking ofthe conventional digital door lock is released by its own independentprocessing. That is, in the conventional digital door lock, when a userinputs a password using a button input unit provided in the digital doorlock or lets an electronic key, such as a radio frequency (RF) card,etc., to be close to the digital door lock, a controller provided in thedigital door lock determines whether the input password is identical toa password stored in the digital door lock, or whether an identification(ID) of the electronic key is one of IDs that have been already storedin the digital door lock, and thus the door is opened/closed based onthe determination.

In the conventional digital door lock, a code for authorizinglocking/unlocking, for example, a password or an ID of the electronickey is stored in a memory provided in the digital door lock. Thus, thecode has to be notified in advance to a temporary user who visits ahouse or an office temporarily for a limited time, as well as any newperson who the original user authorizes to use the house or office, suchthat the password could be revealed to an unauthorized user and there isan inconvenience that the user has to change the password periodically.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a method for controlling a door lock of ahome network system, whereby release information that can be used forlocking/unlocking the door lock by a temporary user who enters a houseor an office for a limited time is generated and controlled.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided amethod for controlling a door lock of a local network system in whichthe door lock for locking/unlocking a door is connected to a gateway andis connected to a communication network, the method including:generating release information used to lock or unlock the door lock inan external software module which communicates with a first smartterminal of a user according to a request from the first smart terminal,or in a software installed in the first smart terminal; transmitting thegenerated release information to the gateway and a second smart terminalof a temporary user, the second smart terminal being independent fromand not connected to the local network system at the time when receivingthe release information; transmitting the received release informationto a controller of the door lock; and locking/unlocking the door lockbased on comparison of information input by the temporary user with therelease information transmitted from the gateway.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda system including a gateway of a local network system, where thegateway is connected to a door lock and the door lock is connected to acommunication network via the gateway, the system comprising one or moresoftware and/or hardware modules configured to: receive releaseinformation used to lock or unlock the door lock, where the releaseinformation is generated in an external software module whichcommunicates with a first smart terminal of a user according to arequest from the first smart terminal, or in a software installed in thefirst smart terminal; transmit the received release information to asecond smart terminal of a temporary user, where the second smartterminal is independent from and not connected to the local networksystem at the time when receiving the release information, and where therelease information input by the temporary user is compared with thereceived release information, and locking/unlocking the door lock isdetermined based on the result of the comparison.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a method for controlling a doorlock of a home network system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration for controllingthe door lock of the home network system illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration for controlling adoor lock of a home network system according to another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGS. 4 through 6 illustrate the detail of an operation of generatingrelease information and setting usage illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration for implementinga method for controlling a door lock of a home network system accordingto another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 7 illustrate a method for controlling a door lock of ahome network system according to embodiments of the present invention.In the present invention, a door lock installed in a house will bedescribed as an example. However, this is limited to the presentembodiment and thus may be applied to a door lock installed in abuilding, an office, etc., as well as the door lock installed in thehouse.

The present invention includes a first smart terminal 110, a gateway130, a second smart terminal 150, and a door lock 170 so as to implementthe method for controlling a door lock of a home network system.

The first smart terminal 110 that is configured to be manipulated by auser and provides configurations to generate release information andusage setting conditions may include at least one of a smartphone, asmartpad, and a personal computer (PC). When a PC is used as the firstsmart terminal 110, software (a program) for generating the releaseinformation and the usage setting conditions may be installed in the PC.

Even when a smartphone or smartpad is used as the first smart terminal110, software (an application) for generating the release informationand the usage setting conditions may be installed in the smartphone orsmartpad. The software may be provided from a company for supplying thedoor lock 170, a company for supplying the gateway 130, or a company forimplementing a home network system. Here, the release information may bea temporary password for unlocking/locking the door lock 170.

The gateway 130 is a device to which the door lock 170 and a wirelesscommunication network are connectable via Z-wave, local area network(LAN), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), etc., and a gateway originallyinstalled for a home network may be also used as the gateway 130 byextending its function. The door lock 170 may be connected to thegateway 130 and connected to a communication network. Meanwhile, in thecurrent embodiment, a wireless communication network has been describedas a mobile communication network. However, the communication network isnot limited to any particular type of communication network.

The gateway 130 is connected to various types of home network devices(not shown) including a refrigerator, a washing machine, gas facility,etc., as well as the door lock 170. Thus, the home network devices (notshown) may be operated by receiving external remote control instructionsfrom the gateway 130. The gateway 130 may transmit an authentication keyto the second smart terminal 150 that will be described later, such thatthe second smart terminal 150 may be connectable to the gateway 130.That is, the temporary user may remotely control the home network device(not shown) using the second smart terminal 150. This will now bedescribed in greater detail.

The second smart terminal 150 is configured to be used by the temporaryuser and receives the release information and/or the usage settingconditions generated by the user via the communication network. Thesecond smart terminal 150 may include at least one of a smartphone, asmartpad, and a PC, as in the first smart terminal 110. The second smartterminal 150 receives the release information and the usage settingconditions in the form of a short message service (SMS) or a multimediamessaging service (MMS) of the smartphone (mobile phone), an e-mail, achatting application, etc, from the user via the communication network.

The door lock 170 is connected to the gateway 130 and is connected tothe communication network via the gateway 130. The door lock 170 isinstalled at the user's house entrance door and includes a controller171, a counter 173, a time sensor 175, and a timer 177. In addition,although not shown, the door lock 170 may further include a lockingmodule (not shown). When the user generates the release informationand/or the usage setting conditions, the release information and/or theusage setting conditions may also be transmitted to the door lock 170.That is, the release information and/or the usage setting conditions maybe transmitted to the controller 171 provided in the door lock 170 viathe gateway 130 and are stored in a memory unit (not shown).

The locking module (not shown) is locked or unlocked by the controller170 such that the corresponding door is opened/closed. The counter 173,the time sensor 175, and the timer 177 are provided to check the usagesetting conditions. This will now be described in greater detail.

The method for controlling the door lock of the home network system willbe described as follows. First, in an operation of generating andcontrolling release information, the user generates release informationof the door lock 170 using a home network application (software)installed in the first smart terminal 110 (S105). Here, the user is aresident who lives in a house, for example, and the first smart terminal110 may be used as the user's smartphone. However, as described above,the first smart terminal 110 is not limited to the smartphone.

In the operation of generating the release information, usage settingconditions for limiting a time period for which the release informationis valid are generated. The usage setting conditions include, forexample, the valid number of times the release information can bevalidly used, a starting time at which the release information beginsvalid, and an ending time at which the release information expires, andan valid period of time for which the release information can be validlyused based on the time at which the release information are initiallyinput.

FIGS. 4 through 6 illustrate an operation of generating the releaseinformation and/or the usage setting conditions using the smartphone110, wherein the generating may be performed directly or indirectly bythe user. Otherwise, generation of the release information and/or theusage setting conditions may be performed by an application installed inthe user's smartphone 110, dependently on or independently from theuser. First, referring to FIG. 4, a screen asking whether to set therelease information is generated on the user's smartphone 110, asillustrated in (a) of FIG. 4. When the user touches the screen to setthe release information, a screen asking which usage setting conditionsare set shows up, as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the valid number of times the releaseinformation can be validly used is selected, a screen for setting thenumber of times is generated, as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 4. After theuser sets the number of times the release information can be validlyused, screens d and e for setting the release information and confirmingthe set release information and a screen f for storing the confirmedrelease information are generated and then terminated.

An operation of generating the release information having differentusage setting conditions will now be described with reference to FIG. 5.As illustrated in (a) of FIG. 5, a screen asking whether to set therelease information is generated in the user's smartphone 110. When theuser touches the screen to set the release information, a screen askingwhich usage setting conditions are set shows up, as illustrated in (b)of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the starting time at which the releaseinformation begins valid and the ending time at which the releaseinformation expires, are selected, a screen for setting the startingtime and the ending time is generated, as illustrated in (c) of FIG. 5.After the user sets and stores the starting time and the ending time ofthe release information, screens d and e for setting the releaseinformation and confirming the set release information and a screen ffor storing the confirmed release information are generated and thenterminated.

An operation of generating the release information having differentusage setting conditions will now be described with reference to FIG. 6.As illustrated in (a) of FIG. 6, a screen asking whether to set therelease information is generated in the user's smartphone 110. When theuser touches the screen to set the release information, a screen askingwhich usage setting conditions are set shows up, as illustrated in (b)of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, when an valid period of time at which the releaseinformation valid since the release information has been initiallyinput, is selected, a screen for setting the valid period of time isgenerated, as illustrated (c) of FIG. 6. In this case, the valid periodof time may be set in units of seconds (s), minutes (m), or hours (h),as illustrated in the drawings. After the user sets and stores the validperiod of time for the release information, screens d and e for settingthe release information and confirming the set release information and ascreen f for storing the confirmed release information are generated andthen terminated.

FIGS. 4 through 6 illustrate user interfaces in which the userpersonally inputs and generates the release information (a temporarypassword) using the first smart terminal 110. However, if the releaseinformation is the temporary password including only numbers, asdescribed above, arbitrary release information may also be generated andsuggested to the user. The arbitrary release information can begenerated by a random-number generation software (application) installedin the first smart terminal 110 without the user's manual input andgeneration process. On the other hand, when the release information isan electronic key that operates by a communication protocol working in anear distance, such as, Near Field Communication (NFC), the user may notneed to generate the release information manually, as illustrated inFIGS. 4 through 6, such that the arbitrary release information may begenerated in the software (application) installed in the first smartterminal 110.

When the release information and/or the usage setting conditions aregenerated through the above operations, the user transmits the releaseinformation and/or the usage setting conditions to the gateway 130 andthe temporary user's second smart terminal 150 (S110). In this case,transmission of the release information and/or the usage settingconditions is performed via the wireless communications network.

The temporary user may be a person who is not a resident of the housebut who visits a house for a limited time or periodically. In this case,the transmission of the release information to the second smart terminal150 is performed upon temporary user's request of the releaseinformation. For example, in response that the temporary user requestsfor the user, i.e., a manager or owner of an accommodation, to allow thetemporary user to enter the accommodation, the release information maybe transmitted to the second smart terminal 150. Such request isperformed by the temporary user touching a check-in button on a displayof the second smart terminal 150 and sending a notification of therequest to the user or the external software module 120 in a server.

A smartphone may be used as the temporary user's second smart terminal150, as the first smart terminal 110. In the current embodiment, theuser generates the release information of the door lock 170 using theapplication that is relevant to the home network system and installed inthe first smart terminal 110. However, in the present invention, theapplication can be any kind of software.

Referring to FIG. 3, in another embodiment of the present invention,when the user transmits an external request (i.e., instructions togenerate release information of the door lock 170) to a server (notshown) communicating with the home network system or the gateway 130 byusing the first smart terminal 110, the release information of the doorlock 170 may also be generated by an external software module 120 in theserver or the gateway 130. Location of the external software module 120is not limited to any particular location, and type of the externalsoftware module 120 is not limited to any particular type of software.As described above, because the release information of the door lock 170can be generated by the external software module 120, the first smartterminal 110 plays only a role for transmitting the instructions togenerate release information of the door lock 170.

In Operation S110, the user may transmit both the release informationand the usage setting conditions to the gateway 130, and only therelease information may also be transmitted to the temporary user. Aswill be described later, because the gateway 130 has to transmit therelease information and information about the usage setting conditions,which are received from the user, to the door lock 170, the usertransmits both the release information and the usage setting conditionsto the gateway 130. However, because the temporary user can use therelease information regardless of being aware of the usage settingconditions, the usage setting conditions may not be transmitted to thetemporary user. In the current embodiment, it is more desirable thatboth the release information and the usage setting conditions aretransmitted to the temporary user for better convenience.

The user's transmission of the release information and the usage settingconditions to the temporary user's second smart terminal 150 isperformed via the wireless communications network, as described above.For example, the release information and the usage setting conditionsmay be transmitted, for example, in the form of a text message or theform of an electronic key for the NFC through an SMS, an MMS, an e-mail,a chatting application (for example, WhatsApp), etc., using thetemporary user's second smart terminal 150, i.e., the temporary user'ssmartphone.

The user transmits the release information generated by the user fromthe first smart terminal 110 to the gateway 130 and the second smartterminal 150. In case that the external software module 120 generatesthe release information of the door lock 170, the external softwaremodule 120 can directly transmit the release information of the doorlock 170 to the second smart terminal 150. In this case, because theuser does not need to receive the release information, the releaseinformation may be transmitted only to the temporary user.

The gateway 130 transmits the release information and the usage settingconditions transmitted from the user, to the controller 171 of the doorlock 170 (S115). The gateway 130 transmits the release information andthe usage setting conditions, such that the door lock 170 can use therelease information.

When the release information and the usage setting conditions are storedin the door lock 170 and the temporary user inputs the releaseinformation transmitted from the user, the controller 171 of the doorlock 170 determines whether the release information input by thetemporary user is identical to the release information stored in thedoor lock 170 and unlocks/locks the door lock 170 based on thedetermination (S120). More specifically, when the release informationinput by the temporary user is identical to the release informationstored in the door lock 170, the controller 171 releases the lockingstate of the locking module (not shown) provided in the door lock 170 toopen the corresponding door.

In an operation of locking/unlocking the door lock 170, when thetemporary user inputs the release information, the controller 171determines whether the release information complies with the usagesetting conditions. First, as described above, when the usage settingconditions are the valid number of times the release information can bevalidly used, the counter 173 provided in the door lock 170 counts thenumber of times the release information has been used. When the numberof times the release information has been used exceeds the valid numberof times, the controller 171 transmits expiration of the usage settingconditions to the gateway 130.

When the usage setting conditions are the starting time at which therelease information begins valid and the ending time at which therelease information expires, the time sensor 173 provided in the doorlock 170 checks a current time when the release information are input,and transmits the current time to the controller 171. If the time atwhich the release information are input, is before the starting time,the door lock 170 is not unlocked. However, if the time at which therelease information are input, is on or after the starting time, thedoor lock 170 is unlocked. If the time at which the release informationare input, is after the ending time, the controller 171 transmitsexpiration of the usage setting conditions to the gateway 130.

When the usage setting conditions are the valid period of time for whichthe release information is valid, and the release information is inputfor the first time, the timer 175 provided in the door lock 170 startsoperating. The timer 175 is set as the valid period of time that is theusage setting conditions, by the controller 171 such that, while thetimer 175 operates, the release information may be validly used and thedoor lock 170 can be unlocked based on the release information. If thetime at which the release information are input, exceeds the validperiod of time, i.e., the operation of the timer 175 ends, thecontroller 171 transmits expiration of the usage setting conditions tothe gateway 130. The timer 175 can be restored to its initial state.

In the operation of locking/unlocking the door lock 170, when expirationof the usage setting conditions is received from the controller 171, thegateway 130 deletes the release information and transmits the result ofdeletion of the release information to the controller 171. Thus, afterthe usage setting conditions expire, even when the temporary user inputsthe release information to the door lock 170, the locking state of thedoor lock 170 is not released. Thus, when the usage setting conditionsof the release information expire, the temporary user has to request togenerate new release information to the user.

As another embodiment, the release information for locking/unlocking thedoor lock 170 may be invalidated based on a notification from the secondsmart terminal regardless of the usage setting conditions. For instance,when the temporary user intends to stop using an accommodation havingthe door lock 170, the temporary user sends a notification of suchintention to the user (i.e. a manager or owner of the accommodation) orthe external software module 120 in a server. Then, the user or theexternal software module 120 sends an instruction to invalidate therelease information to the gateway 130 or the door lock 170. After that,the door lock 170 does not work even if the release information isinputted to the door lock 170 by the temporary user and the usagesetting conditions originally set by the user are not expired yet.

As described above, if the release information of the door lock 170 canbe generated, the user does not need to notify the user's privatelypreferred password numbers to the temporary user who visits the housefor a limited time. That is, there is no need to change the password dueto the disclosure of the user's privately preferred password numbers,such that the user's convenience and security of the door lock can beenhanced. Also, if the usage setting conditions for validly using therelease information expire within a short period of time, security forthe release information can also be improved. If the usage settingconditions expire, the release information is automatically discarded,so that damage caused by the revealment of the release information canbe prevented.

In the operation of locking/unlocking the door lock 170, when thetemporary user unlocks the door lock 170 by inputting the releaseinformation transmitted to the second smart terminal 150, the controller171 of the door lock 170 informs the gateway 130 of unlocking of thedoor lock 170 by the input release information. The gateway 130transmits an authentication key to the second smart terminal 150. Theauthentication key is used to connect the second smart terminal 150 tothe gateway 130. By using the authentication key transmitted to thesecond smart terminal 150, the second smart terminal 150 is connected tothe gateway 130. Thus, the temporary user may remotely control the homenetwork devices (not shown) connected to the gateway 130 using thesecond smart terminal 150.

As described above, the authentication key is transmitted to the secondsmart terminal 150 after the door lock 170 is unlocked. As anotherembodiment, the authentication key may be transmitted to the secondsmart terminal 150 together with the release information at the timewhen the release information is transmitted to the second smart terminal150.

In the above-described embodiment, the controller 171 of the door lock170 determines whether the release information input by the temporaryuser is identical to the release information transmitted from thegateway 130.

As a variation of the above-described embodiment, the gateway 130instead of the door lock 170 may receive the release information inputby the temporary user from the door lock 170, compare the input releaseinformation with release information (or self-stored release informationwithout an additional transmission operation) transmitted from the firstsmart terminal 110 or the external software module, and determinewhether the door lock 170 is unlocked or locked. If the gateway 130determines the door lock 170 to be unlocked, the gateway 130 transmitsinstructions to the door lock 170 for performing the unlocking of thedoor lock 170. In this case, transmission of the release informationfrom the gateway 130 to the door lock 170 is selectively performedbecause the determination of unlocking or locking of the door lock 170may be made by the gateway 130.

As another variation of the above-described embodiment, a server (notshown) communicating with the gateway 130 may receive the releaseinformation input by the temporary user from the door lock 170, comparethe input release information with the stored release informationtransmitted from the first smart terminal 110 or the external softwaremodule, and determine whether the door lock 170 should be unlocked orlocked. If the server determines for the door lock 170 to be unlocked,the server transmits instructions to the door lock 170 for performingthe unlocking of the door lock 170.

As an additional variation of the above-described embodiment, asub-system combining the gateway 130 and a server (now shown) that isconfigured to communicate with the gateway 130 may receive the releaseinformation transmitted from the first smart terminal 110 or theexternal software module, transmit the received release information to asecond smart terminal of a temporary user, determine whether the releaseinformation input on the door lock 170 by the temporary user is comparedwith the received release information, and based on determination,transmits instruction for controlling the door lock 170 to thecontroller 171 of the door lock 170.

FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration for implementing a method forcontrolling a door lock of a home network system according to anotherembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, in order tocontrol the door lock of the home network system according to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the configuration includes a firstsmart terminal 110, a second smart terminal 150, and a door lock 170′,as in the above-described embodiment. Although a gateway is not shown, auser controls the door lock 170′ connected to the gateway (not shown) byusing the first smart terminal 110.

However, in the current embodiment, the door lock 170′ by itself canmake communications with the first smart terminal 110 via a wirelesscommunication network or a near-field communication network. Thus, inthe current embodiment, when the user generates release information usedto unlock/lock the door lock 170′ by using the first smart terminal 110,the first smart terminal 110 by itself may transmit the releaseinformation to the door lock 170′ via the wireless communicationsnetwork.

The above-described embodiment and the current embodiment are onlydifferent from each other in that the door lock 170′ by itself may makecommunications with the first smart terminal 110 via the wirelesscommunications network. That is, subsequent control operations (anoperation of locking/unlocking the door lock 170′) are the same as thoseof the above-described embodiment. Thus, detailed descriptions thereofwill be omitted.

As described above, a method for controlling a door lock of a homenetwork system has the following effects.

First, because release information that is used for a limited time canbe generated, the release information can be provided to a temporaryuser who needs to use the door lock for the limited time without theneed of revealing the user's privately preferred password numbers, sothat damage caused by the revealment of the user's password can beprevented.

Second, usage setting conditions for using the release information aregenerated together with the release information. When the usage settingconditions expire, the release information is automatically discarded,so that damage caused by the revealment of the release information canbe prevented.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling a door lock of a localnetwork system in which the door lock for locking or unlocking a door isconnected to a gateway and is connected to a communications network, themethod comprising: generating release information configured to be usedto lock or unlock the door lock in an external software module whichcommunicates with a first smart terminal according to a request from thefirst smart terminal, or in a software installed in the first smartterminal; transmitting the release information from the externalsoftware module or the first smart terminal to a second smart terminalwhich is independent from and not connected to the local network systemat the time when receiving the release information; and locking orunlocking the door lock based on comparison of information input intothe door lock from an outside of the door lock with the generatedrelease information, wherein the comparison is performed by a serverwhich has the release information and has received the information inputinto the door lock, by the gateway which has received the generatedrelease information and the information input into the door lock, or bythe door lock which has received the generated release information;wherein the release information is invalidated based on a notificationsent from the second smart terminal indicating that a space associatedwith the door lock is not going to be used any more.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising transmitting an authentication key to thesecond smart terminal, wherein the second smart terminal is connectableto the gateway by using the authentication key.
 3. The method of claim2, further comprising allowing the second smart terminal to access thegateway by using the authentication key.
 4. The method of claim 3,further comprising allowing the second smart terminal to control adevice connected to the gateway.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein thetransmitting of the authentication key to the second smart terminal isperformed after the door lock is unlocked.
 6. A method for controlling adoor lock of a home network system in which the door lock for locking orunlocking a door is connected to a gateway and is connected to acommunications network, the method comprising: generating releaseinformation configured to be used to lock or unlock the door lock in anexternal software module which communicates with a first smart terminalaccording to a request from the first smart terminal, or in a softwareinstalled in the first smart terminal; transmitting the releaseinformation from the external software module or the first smartterminal to a second smart terminal; locking or unlocking the door lockbased on comparison of information input into the door lock from anoutside of the door lock with the generated release information, whereinthe comparison is performed by a server which has the releaseinformation and has received the information input into the door lock,by the gateway which has received the generated release information andthe information input into the door lock, or by the door lock which hasreceived the generated release information; and transmitting anauthentication key to the second smart terminal if the door lock isunlocked based on the result of said comparison, wherein the secondsmart terminal is connectable to the gateway by using the authenticationkey.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising allowing the secondsmart terminal to access the gateway by using the authentication key. 8.The method of claim 7, further comprising allowing the second smartterminal to control a device connected to the gateway.
 9. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising invalidating the release information basedon a notification sent from the second smart terminal indicating that aspace associated with the door lock is not going to be used any more.10. A system including a gateway of a local network system, a door lockconnected to the gateway, and a server which is connected to andinteracts with the gateway, where the door lock is connected to acommunication network via the gateway, the system comprising one or moresoftware and/or hardware modules configured to: receive by the gatewayor the door lock release information configured to be used to lock orunlock the door lock from a first smart terminal or an external softwaremodule which communicates with the first smart terminal, or store by theserver the release information, the release information being generatedin the external software module according to a request from the firstsmart terminal or in a software installed in the first smart terminal;transmit the release information from the gateway or the server to asecond smart terminal which is independent from and not connected to thelocal network system at the time when receiving the release information;and lock or unlock the door lock based on comparison of informationinput into the door lock from an outside of the door lock with thegenerated release information, wherein the comparison is performed bythe server which has stored the release information and has received theinformation input into the door lock, by the gateway which has receivedthe generated release information and the information input into thedoor lock, or by the door lock which has received the generated releaseinformation; wherein the release information is invalidated based on anotification sent from the second smart terminal indicating that a spaceassociated with the door lock is not going to be used any more.
 11. Thesystem of claim 10, further comprising one or more software and/orhardware modules configured to transmit an authentication key to thesecond smart terminal, wherein the second smart terminal is connectableto the gateway by using the authentication key.
 12. The system of claim11, further comprising one or more software and/or hardware modulesconfigured to allow the second smart terminal to access the gateway byusing the authentication key.
 13. The system of claim 12, furthercomprising one or more software and/or hardware modules configured toallow the second smart terminal to control a device connected to thegateway.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the transmitting of theauthentication key to the second smart terminal is performed after thedoor lock is unlocked.
 15. A system including a gateway of a localnetwork system, a door lock connected to the gateway, and a server whichis connected to and interacts with the gateway, where the door lock isconnected to a communication network via the gateway, the systemcomprising one or more software and/or hardware modules configured to:receive by the gateway or the door lock release information configuredto be used to lock or unlock the door lock from a first smart terminalor an external software module which communicates with the first smartterminal, or store by the server the release information, the releaseinformation being generated in the external software module according toa request from the first smart terminal or in a software installed inthe first smart terminal; transmit the release information from thegateway or the server to a second smart terminal which is independentfrom and not connected to the local network system at the time whenreceiving the release information; lock or unlock the door lock based oncomparison of information input into the door lock from an outside ofthe door lock with the generated release information, wherein thecomparison is performed by the server which has stored the releaseinformation and has received the information input into the door lock,by the gateway which has received the generated release information andthe information input into the door lock, or by the door lock which hasreceived the generated release information; and transmit anauthentication key to the second smart terminal if the door lock isunlocked based on the result of said comparison, wherein the secondsmart terminal is connectable to the gateway by using the authenticationkey.
 16. The system of claim 15, further comprising one or more softwareand/or hardware modules configured to allow the second smart terminal toaccess the gateway by using the authentication key.
 17. The system ofclaim 16, further comprising one or more software and/or hardwaremodules configured to allow the second smart terminal to control adevice connected to the gateway.
 18. The system of claim 17, furthercomprising one or more software and/or hardware modules configured toinvalidate the release information based on a notification sent from thesecond smart terminal indicating that a space associated with the doorlock is not going to be used any more.